CARESTAR is proud to announce that it has awarded $2.25 million in new grants to multi-agency collaborations bringing community groups and Local Emergency Medical Services Agencies (LEMSAs) together to launch innovative, equitable, and scalable solutions in emergency and prehospital care. The following grants - each for $750,000 over three years - will catalyze new and better ways for all Californians to receive the most appropriate emergency and prehospital care when and where they need it, delivered by first responders and other healthcare providers who reflect the rich diversity of their communities. Learn more

To support Project Lifeline, an initiative focused on creating systemic change in the Sonoma County 9-1-1 system to better serve all community members including immigrants, low-income residents, and people of color. Project Lifeline will engage in a two-pronged strategy that includes collecting and sharing residents’ opinions, experiences, and fears about calling 9-1-1 with local EMS responders, and working with responders to understand and address these barriers. It will also inform and support underrepresented community members in navigating and engaging the 9-1-1 system promptly and effectively during an emergency. With its focus on building long-term trust and mutual respect between the community and EMS providers, a mentorship program for high school-aged students to support first responders in developing Spanish language skills will also be integrated into the project.

To transform Sonoma County Native peoples and communities’ experience with emergency and pre-hospital care. The project will bring together a network of key partners from tribal health organizations, local emergency services, tribal youth programs, and the Santa Rosa Junior College to share experiences, discuss challenges, and build trust toward improved local emergency and prehospital care. The project will result in a comprehensive plan for a Climate Ready Tribal Community Health Representatives (TCHR) training program in Sonoma County that will liaise with the Coastal Valleys Emergency Medical Services Agency (CVEMSA) and the local hospital.

To create a comprehensive, community-centered program to provide emergent and sustained opioid treatment and service to individuals at risk for overdose in Riverside and San Bernardino counties. The Emergency Management Strategies to Decrease Opioid Deaths (EMSDOD) project will incorporate community voices in the design and implementation of the project to address racial inequities in treatment for addiction and help EMS providers better understand the local and cultural needs related to emergency services’ response to drug overdoses. Building on an initiative called Leave Behind Naloxone, a key component of EMSDOD will be to add two Emergency Medicine Substance Use Navigators (EMSUN) trained to link individuals to wrap-around services in Riverside and San Bernardino counties.